đ Up next
Azerbaijan
FP16d 23h
Franco Colapinto says his personal car was broken into while he was eating out in Milan during the summer break, with thieves taking his passport, wallet and clothes. Colapinto said: "They stole everything from me. I wish they had only stolen the mate [Argentinian drink]. Everything. My wallet, passport. All my clothes. A complete disaster. I was left with nothing. In Milan. I left everything in the car. I went to eat at an Italian restaurant that I really like. The best carbonara. And then, when I came back, there was nothing left inside. Nothing."
Lando Norris says he missed out on Sprint pole at Zandvoort because he did not extract the maximum potential from the soft tyres in SQ3, after George Russell beat him by 0.041 seconds. Lando Norris said: "I'm reasonably happy; it is still a good position. It was a reasonable lap, and considering how close it was, it easily could have been first, easily could have been fourth or fifth. I think just the step onto the soft; there was probably a little bit more grip that I didn't quite get out of it from the medium to the soft for Q3, so I think maybe I just pushed it a little bit more."
Yuki Tsunoda says the 2026 Formula 1 cars have lost downforce and are proving tricky on balance and braking after his first running in them on Friday at the Dutch Grand Prix on his return with Racing Bulls. Tsunoda said: "I remember, it was very early stages, so it's a bit different, so maybe it's not fair to say it, but most of the drivers were struggling a little bit with their balance and the brake performance and the amount of downforce that these cars lost compared to last year. I've driven last year's car... But going to this car, it feels a lot different, especially in high-speed corners."
Yuki Tsunoda says âeverything feels like Iâm a rookieâ as he gets up to speed with Racing Bullsâ 2026 car on his return to a race seat at Zandvoort, after being called up to replace Liam Lawson when Lawson stepped up to Red Bull for the injured Isack Hadjar. Tsunoda said: "Considering it's my first time in this car⌠But yeah, it was a bit more work I had to put in the dry condition. To be honest, everything feels like [I'm a] rookie, like brake pressure, everything, is a lot different to previous years. You have two sets of tyres, and you don't want to damage the tyres straight away. It was pretty tricky."
Pierre Gasly says Alpineâs latest upgrade package has delivered a âbig jump forwardâ in performance after he qualified eighth for the Sprint in Zandvoort. Pierre Gasly said: "Yeah, it's definitely positive. The feeling inside the car is a lot better, more grip, reacts better to what I try to do, and my driving inside the cockpit. It's only been two sessions, still a lot to understand. But in terms of performance signs, it's definitely a big jump forward, which is positive, and hopefully we can build on that."
Liam Lawson said he did not know why he failed to improve in SQ2 and missed out on the final part of sprint qualifying at Zandvoort on his unexpected return to Red Bull after Isack Hadjarâs wrist injury. Liam Lawson said: "Yeah, honestly, I don't really know. Obviously, it's been an interesting day, but yeah, normally you sort of improve through qualifying, and we started SQ1 quite strong, and then we didn't make the same step that everybody else did. So obviously, we'll look into it. There's a lot, obviously, to learn today. But so far, honestly, I feel quite good in the car. I thought we'd get through, so it's a shame."
Oscar Piastri said rumours linking Max Verstappen to McLaren did not worry him and had no bearing on his Formula 1 future, after Verstappen extended his Red Bull contract to 2030 ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. Piastri said: "I was never really worried about it. So yeah, from where I'm sat, it is not really anything to do with me."
Max Verstappen says Red Bull "need to understand" why they struggled for balance after he qualified sixth in Sprint Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "I guess we out-qualified one car, but yeah, just a bit tricky to find the grip, the balance. It was already a step forward from FP1, but of course still lacking a little bit to be a little bit further up the road. It's something that we need to understand. Now, what we can do with the balance for tomorrow, to find a bit more grip, really, to close the gap a bit."
Liam Lawson says his Sprint Qualifying exit in SQ2 at Zandvoort was frustrating despite feeling good in the Red Bull on his first day back with the team as a substitute for the injured Isack Hadjar. Lawson said: "Yeah. Honestly, I don't really know. Obviously it's been an interesting day. Normally, you sort of improve through Quali, and we started SQ1 quite strong, then we didn't make the same step that everybody else did. We'll look into it. There's a lot, obviously, to learn today. So far, honestly, I feel quite good in the car. I was honestly feeling okay through Quali, I thought we'd get through, so it's a shame."
George Russell said taking Sprint pole for the Dutch Grand Prix was a reminder that he âstillâ has it, after a season in which he has been unexpectedly outperformed by Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Russell said: "It's been a little while since I've been top of the timesheets in any session. I can't even remember the last time. It's good to remind myself I've still got it and haven't forgotten how to drive. The break came at a good point."
Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin needs to optimise Hondaâs upgraded engine after driveability problems made it âdifficult to stop the carâ in sprint qualifying at Zandvoort. Alonso said: "Free practice was more or less okay but in qualifying we had problems on the engine. Driveability was pushing on the braking, so it was difficult to stop the car sometimes because the engine was over-delivering. And then apparently the SLM mode didn't work for me so I could not open the rear wing. A combination of both made the laps very tricky. When you brake and the throttle is open, it's difficult to stop the car."
Lewis Hamilton says subtle changes after first practice left him with a âcompletely different carâ as he struggled for pace in sprint qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "FP1 felt good. We made subtle adjustments to the car, but when we got into qualifying, it was a completely different car. We need to figure out what went wrong, and we'll do our best tomorrow."
Williams team principal James Vowles said keeping Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz at the team for the foreseeable future is a major boost for a âhurtingâ Williams during a season that has not gone to plan. Vowles said: "It's [Williams] a team that's hurting; there's no doubt about it. We're not where we want to be; this is not what we planned for. So to have the news that two of your leaders are by your side, growing with you, and believe in the journey you're on is incredibly powerful for an organisation, especially when we're asking what we are to them."
Carlos Sainz Jnr says his Williams has had to revert to less competitive components for the rest of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend after he damaged parts in practice by running into what he called Zandvoortâs âaggressiveâ gravel, with the team âtightâ on spares until an upgrade in Azerbaijan. Sainz said: "I struggled a lot this morning with the balance of the car and unfortunately went off into the gravel a few times. We damaged quite a lot of parts on the car, so in my FP1 I couldn't run with the right components and the components that we have to put on the car for the rest of the weekend are not the best in terms of downforce and performance delivery. We are a bit tight on everything until we get the upgrade in Baku."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari are âone step away from where they belongâ as he looks ahead to the title fight heading into the Dutch Grand Prix following Formula 1âs summer break. Hamilton said: "I'm enjoying where we are. It's amazing to come out of a break and be in a scenario where we're right in the mix with the top four teams, second in the championship, Ferrari one step away from where they belong. Our goal is to make that next step. It's not going to be easy against Mercedes or even the other two teams [McLaren and Red Bull] because I think they've all done a really great job."
George Russell admitted his confidence âwasnât exactly at my highestâ coming into the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. Russell said: "I've got to be honest, I came into this weekend with a real open mind because I had no idea how it was going to go, confidence level wasn't exactly at my highest, but just trying to remember that feeling of what I needed from myself and the car, and just go in and almost treat it like the first race of the season again and not overthink things."
Fernando Alonso said problems with Aston Martinâs upgraded Honda power unit were a key factor in his sprint qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. Alonso said: "Free practice was more or less ok, but in qualifying, we had problems on the engine drivability. It was pushing under braking, so it was difficult to stop the car sometimes because the engine was overdelivering. Then, apparently, the SLM [straight line mode] didn't work for me, so I could not open the rear wing. A combination of both made the laps very tricky."
Charles Leclerc said he delivered his "best qualifying lap this year" as he qualified third in Sprint Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. Leclerc said: "I will have preferred to start first but at the end of the day, I'm very happy about today because honestly, I think it's my best Qualifying lap this year. That means we are doing something right also with the feeling."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari need to âfigure out what went wrongâ after his SF-26 felt âcompletely differentâ in Dutch Grand Prix sprint qualifying following subtle set-up changes made after sole practice at Zandvoort, with the seven-time world champion seventh and half a second behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in third. Hamilton said: "P1 felt good. We made subtle adjustments to the car, but when we got into qualifying it was a completely different car, so we need to figure out what went wrong and then we'll do our best tomorrow."
Lando Norris said it was âa little bit disappointingâ to qualify second for the Zandvoort Sprint after Mercedesâ George Russell beat him to pole by 0.041 seconds. Norris said: "I think I'm reasonably happy. It's still a good position. It was a reasonable lap and, considering how close it was, it easily could have been first or fourth or fifth. Close between all the teams, which is exactly what we expected. But of course, a little bit disappointing to be P2 instead of P1."
Get the full feed, faster alerts, and the stories worth following on your phone.
